Optimists and realists
by XD W O L F I E
Summary: "Optimism is not false hope. It warms our heart in our darkest times." The final match of the Mistral Regional tournament is taking place, and Pyrrha makes a new friend in the worst possible circumstances.


Optimists and realists

Author's note- This is an oddity for me. I like to include snippets of the characters past in my fic, and that's how this one-shot came about. I wanted to write about why Pyrrha dislikes people who are prejudiced against the Faunus, but as I finished the scene, I came to notice that it didn't really fit with my fic. I was going to change it to suit the needs of what I was writing at the time, but I really didn't want to, the reason being that I actually enjoyed writing this scene. So, I decided to make tiny changes so that it can be a one-shot.

Plus, it's nice to write for different genres. The more genres you can write for, the better, right? It's basically having another string in your bow.

* * *

Pyrrha stood in a darkened arena, with a spotlight shining on her. On the other side of the arena was her opponent, a boy with a pair of wolf ears. The crowd around them were booing the Faunus and cheering for Pyrrha, who was gasping for breath. The boy stood strong, hardly affected by her attacks. Above the arena, their aura levels were displayed. Hers was in the red, almost depleted, while his was only a third down. He was good, far better than Pyrrha, so why was the crowd against him?

It didn't matter which contender's side the audience were on. They were opponents. That was all that mattered right now. Pyrrha formed her spear into a rifle, and trained the sight on her adversary.

The silver haired Faunus didn't waste time in responding to her movements. Raising a double ended sword, he deflected a hailstorm of bullets by spinning it around, creating a windmill effect. Dashing forward while still spinning his weapon, he closed in on Pyrrha, who took out her shield while forming her weapon into a spear.

Bearing down on Pyrrha, the Faunus gripped the handle between the blades, and pulled it, separating them. Now wielding a long sword in each hand, he swung vertically with his left hand, which Pyrrha sidestepped, then swung horizontally with his right hand, threatening to slice her in half.

She blocked it with her shield, but she wasn't unscathed. A small cut on her arm had appeared, a single drop of blood hitting the floor. Her aura levels were in the danger zone, with the small red bar now flashing. If she sustained any more damage, the match would be over. She was going to lose the Mistral Regional tournament.

The fight was almost hopeless. He was much stronger and more skilful than her previous opponents, much better than her. She had won the past 3 tournaments, and wanted to win this one as well. It would make her the record holder for the most consecutive wins, and would secure her the support of the best manager Vytal had to offer. He would sort out all kinds of deals, the kinds of deals that would bring in the 'big bucks,' as he would say. The kinds of deals that would help her parents.

She couldn't lose here. If she did, she wouldn't be able to support her parents. They resided in a small flat in Vale that didn't even have heating. Everything depended on this fight, and she was a single blow away from losing. Her heart was pounding, her blood boiling, her mind working to find a way to beat the Faunus. It was time for a risky gambit.

The wolf-eared boy made the next move, trying to end this in a single strike. He raised both swords above his head. Pyrrha looked up at him, and shed her shield, to the shock of the audience. They all watched as he brought down the swords.

They stopped in mid-air, a centimetre from Pyrrha's face. Her hand which originally held her shield glowed silver, as did the swords. The Faunus was stunned for a moment, not comprehending how his swords couldn't move down. He tried to push the with all his might, but they were stuck.

Now, Pyrrha stood, her hand still raised and glowing. With a flick of her hand, the swords were thrown across the arena, with the Faunus still holding them. He landed with a thud and rolled across the ground, but he still gripped his swords. He got up and ran back to Pyrrha.

She wasn't done using her semblance. She magnetised her shield and threw it without touching it, and it spun through the air like a saw blade. The boy blocked the shield with both swords, and sent it into the air. He believed the threat of the shield was over, and continued to shorten their distance, but cried out when the shield came back down, controlled by Pyrrha, and crashed into his head. He scrambled onto the ground, ignoring the pain, but the shield still wasn't done. It flew across the ground, aiming for his legs. He jumped while on all fours, and rolled forward over it, getting back to his feet.

Pyrrha readied her spear while still controlling the shield, but couldn't aim her throw correctly. Not like it mattered. She hurled the spear, but it was far off its mark. Raising her right hand, she now magnetised her spear as well as the shield. It was a huge drain on what little aura levels she had left, but it was necessary.

The sword and shield positioned themselves in front of the Faunus, who was still running when the spear almost pierced his shoulder. The weapons acted as though they were still being held by Pyrrha, as though somebody who was invisible was wielding them. The spear made a lunge at his chest, but he swiped it away, and the spinning shield flew towards his neck. He barely ducked it, and the spear swept his legs, sending him to the floor.

No more games. While still on the floor, the Faunus attached the pair of swords again by their handle. As he got to his feet, he threw the double ended sword, which cut through the floor. It looked as though she could only control one item at a time with each hand, so if she was going to block the swords…

Pyrrha almost panicked when she saw the incoming blades. She let go of her control over the shield to grasp the swords, which she promptly returned to its sender. Still controlling the spear, she was about to swipe at the Faunus again, but she yelped as her own shield almost hit her head. He had picked up the shield when she controlled the swords and threw it at her.

Now she really panicked. She lost control over the spear and the swords, and he was sprinting at her. He grabbed the swords by the handle before they dropped to the ground, and swung at her head. Acting on reflex, without thinking at all, she ducked down and jumped away. Her shield further down the arena, and she grasped out for it. With her other hand, she reached behind her for her spear. They both came to life and hovered in the air before speeding toward them.

Pyrrha grabbed her shield and rolled onto her back, looking up at her opponent. The spear made its way to him, and he swung it aside, sending it into the air. He now ignored it and swung down, trying to pierce Pyrrha in the chest. She raised her shield, and the weapons clashed. They were staring each other in the eye, as they attempted to overpower the other. Pyrrha was losing. The sword was slowly pushing her shield aside.

_"Mother, father, I'm sorry."_

A bloodcurdling scream filled the arena. Pyrrha had closed her eyes as her loss was approaching, but opened them wide at the scream. The pressure that was being applied to her shield was gone. Something warm was dripping onto her.

The Faunus had been pierced her spear. It had gone through his back and out of chest. They both looked at the bloody spear, with the Faunus staggering backwards and dropping his sword. Not sure of what to do, he felt the spear, as if confirming that he was indeed stabbed. Above them, his aura levels had dropped to nothing.

"Ladies and gentleman, your winner of the Mistral Regional tournament, for the fourth year in a row, is Pyrrha Nikos!" A female commentator's voice rang out through speakers.

The Faunus dropped to the ground, losing consciousness. The arena was lit once again, and the audience was cheering and celebrating. Pyrrha couldn't believe her eyes, and was struggling to figure out what happened. When her spear was deflected and sent into the air before their power struggle, she must have called it back towards them when she gripped her shield. And it came down into him.

Pyrrha scrambled to her feet and rushed over to the Faunus, who was barely breathing. The spear protruded out of both sides, creating a pool of blood. She didn't dare take it out yet, fearing that it would speed up the blood loss.

"No…no, this isn't what I wanted!" She kneeled over the wolf-eared boy, regretting ever stepping foot in this arena to fight him. If she knew that something like this would happen, she wouldn't have fought at all. The boy was on his side, and strained his head to look at Pyrrha. Tears formed in both of their eyes.

"What are YOU crying for? All you humans want this to happen to us…" His voice was getting weaker. She struggled to hear him over the cheering, and put her hands on his shoulder.

"No, no! I don't want anybody to die! This wasn't supposed to happen!"

He chuckled softly. His ears flattened against his head.

"It wasn't supposed to happen? That's what all you… humans say when something happens to a Faunus. Ain't it funny… that most combat accidents happen to Fauna?"

He coughed the last few words. Pyrrha was helpless. He was dying because of her, but maybe there was a chance to save him. He can't die because of her…

"Pyrrha! Nice going out there! I think it's fair to say that I'm definitely being your manager!"

Pyrrha looked over her shoulder to see her new manager approaching them. He wasn't in the least bit concerned for the Faunus.

"Medical attention! Get it, quick!" Pyrrha tried to remain calm, but her voice was breaking. The manager was indifferent about dying boy.

"Medical attention? Are you hurt?" He suddenly showed concern.

"No! Him! He's dying!" Pyrrha left his side to face the suited human. He just shrugged.

"Who cares? If you're not hurt, can we just get to my office so we can talk about sponsorships?"

Pyrrha was furious, but before she could shout at the man, the Faunus spoke up.

"Yeah, Pyrrha, you hurt? I bet that scratch on your arm is causing quite a bit of pain, unlike this spear sticking through my chest… No one cares about a dying Faunus if a human is in pain, am I right?" His sarcastic remark caused him to cough a small amount of blood. Pyrrha knelt down next to him. If help wouldn't come to him, she would take him to get help. In the audience, people saw Pyrrha trying to help the boy, and they started booing and throwing cans and other trash. Did they really care so little for his life?

Pyrrha wasn't like them.

"GAH! What are you… doing!?" The boy cried out, as Pyrrha picked him up bridal style. She tried to angle him so the spear wouldn't fall out. He was heavy, but Pyrrha could carry him. An empty can landed close to her, and she looked out into the audience, fury in her eyes.

"You people are sick! I look out among you, and I see nothing but racists and scum! All of you look down on the Fauna simply because of their minute differences! What difference does a tail or another pair of ears make? None! NONE! Why do the White Fang take such drastic actions? Because of people like you! You people are the true reason for why revolutionary groups cause havoc! You may scold me for caring about the life of a Faunus, but I will not care for your opinion! I will help anybody in need, whether they are human or Fauna, and I will do so no matter what the population believes! If it costs me my fame, or my place in society, then so be it!"

Everybody heard her, but many people still booed her. She walked away in the midst of the hatred and trash, with the Faunus looking up at her. Her manager wasn't sure of what to do, and looked between the audience and Pyrrha several times, mouth open.

* * *

They were in the halls of the arena, away from prying eyes, but chanting could still be heard.

"That's quite a set of lungs you've got there…" The Faunus struggled to breathe.

"Well, sometimes I find that a change in tone can help to teach people a lesson.

"It… didn't seem to work…" Pyrrha disagreed.

"Somebody in the audience must have agreed with me. I'm sure I'm not the only person in this arena who cares for the lives of the Fauna."

"I don't want to tell you this… but you probably are. I didn't see anyone jumping to my aid. It's only natural, considering, well, my ears." His wolf ears perked up, and the flow of blood continued.

Pyrrha quickened her pace, heading for the infirmary of the arena.

"You're going to live… you have to live…"

"You ever had a spear in the chest? People generally die from it…" The Faunus chuckled, as a bead of sweat fell from Pyrrha's head.

"Please, don't think like that! The infirmary has Dust that can close the wound!"

"Heh… you're ever very optimistic or in denial. Either way, It's quite a refreshing change from the humans who just want me to die…"

"Better to be an optimist than a pessimist. It's far better to have a positive attitude than a negative one."

"I'm neither. I'm a realist. Optimism is just false hope, y'know. I'm pretty much dead, and I accept that. It's probably too late for Dust to help…" Contrary to what he said, the Faunus had a hint of hope in his voice.

"You'll live, I promise."

"There's that optimism again…"

Tears welled in her eyes, as she wasn't sure she could keep the promise. It was her fault. If she just took more care with what she was doing, he wouldn't have the spear in his chest. He wouldn't be dying. She couldn't be responsible for his death.

Pyrrha was now running as fast as she could, taking care to not rattle the spear out of his body. After a minute, she arrived with the boy who was barely conscious. She kicked the door open, and a pair of nurses were startled.

"Ms. Nikos?"

Pyrrha put the Faunus down on a table.

"See? I got you here! You're going to be fine!"

"You'll keep that optimism 'til the end, won't you? Do you… have any idea how much pain you'll be in when I die?" He didn't want to show it, but he was scared. His vision was becoming blurry.

The nurses sprang into action upon seeing the boy with the spear inside him. One was in a green coat, a surgeon, and scrambled to open a drawer with various tools inside. The other swept various items off the table, as it was never intended to be used to remove spears from people's bodies.

"Hey, Pyrrha…" The Faunus strained to look at the tearful girl.

"Y-Yes?"

"You're the first human I've met who's actually tried to care for me… no, scratch that. I think you're the first person ever to care about me…"

Pyrrha took his hand.

"That can't be true. What about your family?"

"Had a sister with rabbit ears. She was killed in a hunting accident. Humans said they had her mistaken for a real rabbit. Lies, of course…"

"S-Sorry. Mother, father?"

"Dead."

"Friends?"

"None. I'm alone."

Pyrrha clasped his hand harder.

"N-Not anymore, I promise! Nobody should be alone in their life!" She smiled, which the Faunus reciprocated.

"No… they shouldn't. So why me?"

Pyrrha couldn't answer that. Maybe she knew the answer, but didn't want to say it.

"I don't know."

"Of course not. Not even I know why…" His voice was becoming faint. His eyes were becoming blank.

The surgeon was setting up the table around them. She produced a canister of pale coloured Dust with a mask attached by a tube. They were going to put him to sleep.

"Ms. Nikos, I'll have to ask you to leave while we do this."

Pyrrha didn't want to leave him. He seemed different from the person she had fought a short while ago. His confidence was gone, and loneliness had replaced it.

"Go, Pyrrha. You don't want to watch your spear get ripped from my chest, do you?" He looked at Pyrrha with wide, dark eyes. They seemed to trap Pyrrha in a swirl of guilt. She was the reason he was here, right now. She couldn't stand to look at them.

"I… I'll be here when you wake up."

He looked at her with a tear rolling down his cheek.

"…You really think I'll wake up from this? You really think I'll live?"

Pyrrha put her hand on his shoulder.

"I do."

"…And when… I wake up… you'll be here?"

Finally. He was finally starting to believe that he will live.

"Yes! Yes, of course I will! I won't let you be lonely anymore!"

Her friend took her hand in his own.

"This 'optimism' thing isn't so bad… I've never felt like being optimistic before. Never had a reason to be…"

"And now you do. When you recover, we'll go into town! We can… just do simple friend things! Go get something to eat, go listen to music, things like that!"

"…How about a trip to the… weapon shop? I'm sure you don't want a weapon covered in my entrails."

Pyrrha chuckled slightly, even when she knew she shouldn't have done.

"Of course! I'll show you what it's like to have a friend!" Pyrrha smiled widely.

"Heh… heh heh heh! I'm looking forward to it…" Her friend rested his head on the table, closing his eyes. The nurse ushered Pyrrha out of the room, and she looked one last time at her friend. A mask was put on his face, putting him to sleep. He was smiling.

* * *

Pyrrha had been pacing back and forth restlessly for the past 10 minutes. She was worried about him, of course, but she was also making plans for what they could do when he woke up. The weapon was probably removed by now, so they should be applying the Dust on the wound.

First, she should take him to meet some people. They would accept him, no matter what his race was. She had kind, caring friends, and they would become his friends as well. Oh! They should go gather his weapon first, actually. If humans haven't stole it yet, that is. If they did, then they really needed to go to the weapon shop.

Fifteen minutes passed. The Dust should be properly applied, by now. It was just a matter of waiting for him to wake up.

After doing all that, a trip to the café may be in order. A cup of tea always helped to lighten her mood, and a slice of cake would be pleasant at this time of day. Actually, would he even like a café? Visiting a cafe wasn't exactly a guy's thing to do. Well, he probably wouldn't complain about the activities as long as they were together.

Twenty minutes. Maybe they would let her see him?

For a moment, Pyrrha wondered what the Fauna did wrong to deserve the kind of treatment they received. What did her new friend do to be mocked and shouted at? It didn't matter. He had a friend now, and she wouldn't let him get discriminated against anymore.

He was a weird guy. At first, he didn't want her help, and was even sarcastic to her when he was on the floor with the spear in his chest. Next, he was curious as she carried him to the infirmary. He had never had somebody try to help him before, and he showed himself to be a 'realist,' which Pyrrha believed to just be pessimism. He had accepted his death. Finally, he came around to positivity, and wanted to live so that he could spend time with a friend.

Pyrrha knocked on the door. There was a moment of silence before it opened, and a nurse stood in the doorway, looking at her. She didn't say anything, and swiftly pushed past Pyrrha. Then, the other nurse rushed past, sighing. Where were they going?

Pyrrha stepped into the room. Her friend lay on the table still, the spear on the floor. It looked like he was sleeping, and she couldn't blame him. A piece of cloth covered up what was left of the wound, which was healed by Dust. She couldn't see the wound, but Pyrrha assumed that it was either completely closed or gone altogether.

The mask that was used to put him to sleep was lying on the table. That was careless. Wherever the nurses had to go, they should have put the mask back on the table first. The pale sleep-Dust could endanger the room's occupants. She put it back on the canister, stopping the flow of Dust, and turned back to her sleeping friend.

He looked peaceful as he slept. His arms were at his sides, and his eyes were shut tight. His wolf ears were lifeless, contrary to how they used to move. It was hard to believe that he was a vicious fighter. Smiling, Pyrrha clasped his hand, hoping he would wake up at her touch. She wanted to know what it was like to live after taking a spear in the chest.

…

…

…

Cold.

He was cold.

Why was he cold?

Pyrrha heard the scuttling of footsteps behind her. The nurses had returned with somebody, and they looked at her with a sincere sadness in their eyes.

Pyrrha's vision was becoming warped. She couldn't support herself, and stumbled onto the table where her friend's body lay. She accidentally rattled the table, and the piece of cloth fell off his chest.

His wound was still open, albeit it being smaller than what it once was. Grains of Dust were still on his chest, which were still in effect even now, but they were hardly visible over the dried blood that covered his body.

"He lost too much blood prior to the removal of the spear. He died a few minutes after you left the room."

Pyrrha didn't hear the nurse. She fell to her knees, sobbing. Her spear lay next to her, with his blood all over it. Not knowing what she was doing, she slowly reached out for it, tears falling from her face. It slipped from her grasp, the blood stopping her from getting a grip. Now, his blood was on her hands.

The other person who accompanied the nurses gave a respectful bow and inspected the body of her friend. He reached out for the dead Faunus' wrist, and Pyrrha suddenly got up, slapping his hand away.

"Don't touch him!"

Pyrrha didn't know why she reacted like that. Something about seeing a human touch his corpse just made her angry. He wouldn't have wanted it. Hell, he didn't like it when she picked him up. The man was flabbergasted, not sure of what to do.

"Ms. Nikos, please, we have to record the time of death."

"He's not-"

Pyrrha choked out her words, and ultimately couldn't form them. She didn't want to accept it. She caused his death. She buried her head in her hands and crumpled to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Nikos, but we must be realistic here. His chances of survival were minimal the moment the spear entered his chest."

Pyrrha wasn't hearing anymore. She crawled against the wall with her head in her knees. Nobody tried to comfort her, and they went about making their standard procedures. An hour later, his body was being carried off to some other place, where other humans would treat him like just another body, not aware that he had a terrible, lonely life. Pyrrha stayed where she was the entire time.

* * *

A few days later, his funeral took place. She was the only person there, other than the vicar who passed his spirit onto the 'great beyond.' Pyrrha wasn't at all listening, not being a believer in God. Her friend probably wasn't a believer, either. He was a realist, after all, despite showing signs of optimism in the end. It clearly didn't help.

He left quicker than he should have. The vicar and her friend. The vicar saw that this Faunus had almost nobody who cared about him, and left as soon as the passing was complete. He didn't even offer his condolences.

His coffin had already been placed in the ground, and several people had come to cover it in dirt. Pyrrha sat on the ground and watched. She stood when they were finished, and one of them put a tombstone on top of the mound. It was blank, but the person offered her a pen with a vial of red Dust inside, so that she could write an inscription. She took it without a word and knelt down next to the tombstone. She should probably start with his name.

His name.

His name was…

She didn't know.

She didn't know the name of her friend. Pyrrha hung her head low, feeling terrible once again, but she didn't cry. She had no more tears left to shed.

She knew what she could write. She knew enough about him, after all. It wasn't difficult.

After a few minutes, she was done. Pyrrha held her head up high. She was proud of what she wrote, even if others didn't agree. It was her philosophy.

Her friend would agree with the inscription, she was sure. He was becoming optimistic before he died, after all.

_Optimism is not false hope._

_It warms our heart in our_

_Darkest times, even in the_

_Face of death. It is the _

_Faith that shows us we are_

_Not alone, even if_

_Abandoned by all others._

_It takes only a single person_

_To warm the heart of_

_Another, no matter their_

_Race or history. The person_

_Who lays here understood_

_This in his final moments._

_He was not alone. His heart_

_was warm._


End file.
